Page 2 of Courting Danger

“I’m backing off because no one needs a partner they’ve got to keep one eye on all the time just to ensure he doesn’t wind up in someone else’s lap,” Danger grumbled.

“See, this is like the argument about the chicken and the egg,” Mark said. “Let’s put a little wager on it, shall we?”

“What kind of wager?”

“If I’m right, he’ll quit his shit once he knows he has a Dom who’s gonna keep him,” Mark replied. “If I’m wrong, well, you’ll be justified in cutting him loose and a hundred bucks richer.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Danger couldn’t deny that he’d considered that possibility, but the underlying issue would always be that he craved Pope’s firm hand and the way the man had always known how to send him soaring, dark thoughts abandoned on the side of the road whenever he submitted to him. While he craved a boy of his own, he also yearned to give up control again and be the pup he used to be, which left him torn.

Being firm and setting boundaries with Roan was easy, the same as disciplining him, but opening his heart to the boy when his own was still in tatters…not so much.

He was spared from having to discuss Roan any further when Teddy skid around the corner, careening off the open door in his quest to present himself to the Prez.

“I-I got here as fast as I could,” Teddy panted, still in his apron from the club-owned diner he worked at, three pens stuckin the bun in his hair, and his order tablet sticking out of the apron pocket.

“Sit down, Teddy,” Mark said.

Danger could hear the struggle in his voice as he fought to keep it impassive, even bored, when he addressed Teddy, who scurried to do as he was told. Like the well-trained submissive he’d been before his falling out with Mark and Kat, he sat with his hands folded together in his lap, eyes on his former Dom, as he waited to hear what Mark had to say.

“We’ve been having issues with the books at Jester’s Delight since I pulled you out of there,” Mark began, getting right to the point. “Danger has everything here; you can go over the particulars with him. I want that club back running right before the end of the month. Can you do that for me?”

Teddy’s shoulders twitched, his spine straightening more. Danger waited to see how he answered, side-eying him to see him glance from Mark to the papers on the desk.

“Yes, sir,” Teddy replied. “Do you need me to clean house, or has it already been taken care of?”

“You’re going to do it, and you know how I want it done,” Mark declared. “Take whoever you need. Anyone tries to give you shit; you tell them it’s by my orders.”

“Yes, sir,” Teddy replied, body jerking in the direction of the door before years of discipline kicked in and he waited to be dismissed.

“Document everything you find out of order, no matter how small; send it and a report to me before the end of the day,” Mark continued, one eyebrow raising a fraction when Teddy moved before settling back into a stern scowl.

“Yes, sir.”

“Talk to the crew,” Mark said. “They were the ones who first noticed something off, especially with their tips at the end of thenight. I want everything put back the way it was, and our people made whole again, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If there’s anything else we come across, Danger will text you the details,” Mark said. “Now get moving.”

That last part didn’t require a verbal response, and Teddy knew it. He scurried his ass out of there as fast as he’d come in, and moments later, Danger heard him informing Kong, Creature, Wreck, and Night of the Prez’s need for a cleanout crew.

While Teddy might be on the outs with most of them, they all jumped to follow him out the door a short time later, bikes revving before they roared out through the gate. Mark propped his head up with his hand, a look of longing on his face that had nothing to do with the skulls that were about to be cracked and everything to do with missing Teddy.

“I’ll have to let Mourine know he’s been reassigned,” Mark muttered.

“His talents were wasted there, and we both know it,” Danger replied.

“You’re on his side in all of this, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because being suspicious is what’s kept me alive this long,” Danger replied. “So I can’t fault him for being cautious. Sinn’s charming, and yeah, he didn’t turn out to be a threat, but the way everyone was so taken with him didn’t sit right with me either, and that whole kidnapping thing, I have to be honest, I thought Sinn had set it up and I expected us to be riding into a trap.”

Mark scrubbed his hand over his face and nodded. “What’s kept me alive this long is trusting my gut, which told me right from the jump that Sinn was legit. If Teddy couldn’t trust meto make the right decisions for the club, then something was already broken.”

“Or your boy was attempting to protect his Daddy and got burned in the process,” Danger pointed out. “He’d burn the world to the ground for you and Kat, whether you want him to or not. It might be out of turn to say it, but if things had turned out differently, you’d all be praising him, not treating him like a pariah.”